The Array Lord's Inheritance (4)

When Shui finally decided to move on to the next test, surprisingly, he reunited with his two companions. Emily and Maha shared his surprise, but they had already met each other so his appearance was anticipated.

"I'm glad to see you two. How were the previous tests?"

After confirming that they took the same tests, Emily answered that she found the fourth test to be the most challenging. This wasn't surprising as the second and third tests were very compatible with her, while her strong soul made the first test a simple task. As an array master, Emily had developed a keen sense of sight and touch, but her other senses fell behind. Luckily, in the Still Heart state, her perception grew sharp enough to detect the dangers of the maze. Unfortunately, she couldn't move very quickly and there was a time limit on this state so it took her a while to complete the test.

On the other hand, Maha found the second test to be the most difficult. Once again, this was no surprise since Maha only gained an interest in arrays because of the map, so most of what she knew was actually what she picked up while watching Shui and Emily.

"I guess we don't need to ask you. I'm sure you cleared all the tests easily," said Maha.

Emily nodded with certainty but Shui responded with an awkward smile. The three of them were grouped together at the start of a passage with a wall behind them and darkness in front. Even if they wanted to venture into the unknown, there was an invisible wall there to stop them, so they were stuck here for now. With the three of them now together, they spent some time speculating what the following tests would be like, but they weren't able to find a strong link between the tests so far. They knew that the qualities tested were important for an array master, but that didn't narrow down the number of tests left or the exact qualities left to be tested.

Once they reached a dead end in their thinking, they began to wonder when this test would start and what would be in store for them, when suddenly, a newcomer appeared. It was a man whose chest heaved up and down like he was desperate for air. The sweat clinging to his body along with his messy attire was proof that he had experienced much struggle to get here. Since they wanted to monopolize the inheritance, Shui and Maha didn't think too kindly about this new face, but before they could decide what to do with him, information about this test appeared in their minds.

Test 5: Opportunity.

The darkness cleared up enough for them to see ten chests on the path ahead. Although it wasn't clearly lined out, there were five columns and about twenty rows of spaces, and every chest could be located by referring to the row and column it was in. This test was very simple, but all of them were already aware that simple didn't mean easy here.

Their objective was to open one of the chests, that was it. Every chest contained something that they would be able to take with them, however, that object wouldn't necessarily be a treasure, and just because they reached a chest didn't mean they would be able to open it. The chests and the path towards them were rigged with traps more concentrated than in the maze, so the moment you let your guard down could be your last. However, if you could slip through the traps to the chest at the last row and center column, there would be a grand prize chest that was guaranteed to have an impressive treasure.

After the rules of the test were sent to their brains, Shui, Emily and Maha stayed silent as if they were contemplating, but really all of them were watching the other man. He didn't seem to know that they were a group, so he believed that it was a free-for-all. In his fatigued state, he would have loved to take this opportunity to rest, but he couldn't let anyone get the jump on him either. Their cultivations were still suppressed, which meant none of them had a clear advantage in a fight, so he decided to move first.

He had passed the previous test, so the traps poised little trouble to him as long as he stayed focused. He used his proven method of detecting traps to reach a chest in the first column from the left and the sixth row. He hadn't sprung a single trap, but Shui's group still watched him suspiciously. His trap detection skills were the real deal, but that wasn't what they were interested in.

The man didn't lower his guard and carefully reached for the chest. There was no lock, so he opened it with a simple lift. However, just as the inside of the chest was being revealed, the man vanished. To be specific, the upper half of the man.

Emily quickly looked away, but one glance was enough cause for nightmares. A pair of legs stayed upright for a couple seconds before they fell and blood gushed out from the severed waist. The man died suddenly, but at least his circumstances allowed them to know what to be wary of.

"This is more dangerous than I expected."

Shui and Emily agreed while thinking of how to reach and open a chest. However, both of them were thinking of how to open a chest for Emily. Based on the demonstration, reaching the chests shouldn't be a problem, but Shui was desperate to figure out how the chests worked.

'Do all of them have that trap, or is there a condition? Do the traps change?'

Part of his worrying was logical since he wanted to minimize the risk he had to face, but the bigger reason why it was so hard for him to make a move was because he didn't want to put Emily in danger. However, he forgot the type of person his little sister had become. Shui kept deliberating, but before he could decide on what to do, Emily took a step forward.

"Em-Shino!"

She stopped when he called her name, but she didn't turn to face him.

"Yes, brother?"

"What are you doing?"

"That should be obvious. I'm attempting the test."

"Have you figured it out?"

"Not completely, but I don't think anything will change by waiting longer."

"Even so, if you're not sure then wouldn't it be better if you waited a little more? Maybe Maha or I will-"

"Brother, although we're a team, we're also rivals aren't we? So shouldn't we be passing the tests through our own efforts?"

"That's true, but that doesn't mean we can't,"

"Stop there, Shin. Do you want to trample on her resolve?"

With that warning from Maha, Shui reluctantly closed his mouth. He noticed it; he realized that he was being too overprotective as well as how much Emily wanted to show that she could be independent. Still, there was nothing he could say to her as she took the next step.